Milos Raonic, the hometown hope at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, staved off becoming the final Canadian eliminated from the Masters 1000 event on Wednesday night, outlasting 21-year-old Jack Sock in a marathon, winning the three-set tiebreak, 6-4, 7-6(2) 7-6(4), on Centre Court at the Rexall Centre.

"First match of a new tournament. It's never going to be pretty," Raonic said. "You've just got to go and fight though, and I was able to do so."

It's the fifth time Raonic has beaten the American — Sock's a wild-card entry here — in six previous matches.

With Eugenie Bouchard suffering a stinging upset on the women's side in Montreal the previous night, Raonic represented one final chance for a Canadian winner on home soil in 2014.

That possibility remains thanks to a booming service game from Raonic, who scored 15 aces on a night he struggled elsewhere, hitting into the net and floating shots long throughout most of two hour, 24-minute match.